Elves at HelmsDeep
by Chibi Legolas
Summary: What would it be like if there had been elves at HelmsDeep in the book? Told first-person from Aragorn's point of view.


Chibi Legolas: Okay, lots of people asked me to write more and in the style of "Hugs... A Thoughtful Contemplation," so I wrote the entire chapter of what I thought it would have been like at Helm's Deep with the Elves. And if you couldn't tell already, it is the perspective of Aragorn that the story is written from.  
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Elves at Helms Deep  
  
We lined the walls, all of only a few hundred of us in fighting order. There, we waited solemnly...  
We waited. We waited for deliverance, for dawn in the dark. An hour passed, maybe more, and the wind grew stronger. A dreary rain began to fall about us, and the air reeked of decay from the old wooden structured behind us that groaned in the damp. There was a signal on one of the higher towers, and a boy ran up to us.  
"Drums! Drums on the air!"  
I turned to look at my two Fellowship companions. There must have been doom on my face, for I saw it in theirs. "I...It has been..." But words failed me. In vain, I struggled to find what I really wanted to tell them... About honor, loyalty, friendship. About the closeness that I now shared with them, even though I had known them but a short time. How, through all the ordeals, we had grown a true brotherhood of battle, a camaraderie that now meant so much to me... I felt a lump welling in my throat, and I was ashamed. Here it was, perhaps the last time we may see each other, and I could say nothing to them...  
There was a shadow in the darkness and it was the king stepping towards us out of the sheets of rain. "To the gate!"   
This was peculiar, but we obeyed. I wondered as I clutched my cloak tighter about me, had something happened? A problem that had been unforeseen by us until now, this very last of moments?  
We could hear it now. Low thudding beneath the constant pitter-patter of the falling water, measured and droning. The Dwarf licked his lips, whether in anxiety or anticipation, I shall not know...  
"Gate!" I heard a cheer from the wall and my confusion grew. What on earth was happening?! There were men at the door, turning the great wheel... The metal grate rose with an ear-splitting screech, then the heavy wooden planks slid open with a long, low moan.  
Through the rain, we strained our eyes. Suddenly, I felt a grip on my arm. Legolas was grinning. He was craning his neck to see, and said something that was too soft and lost on the howling wind.   
It was strange, feeling like I was the last to know what happenings were occurring right before me. My heart pounding in my chest seemed fit to explode!  
Then I saw.  
Rank upon rank of filing golden-armored Elves, bows and quivers slung across their backs, shield and sword in either hand. They marched as though part of the very rain through which they moved. It was a stunning display of determination and military might. Their officers moved around them, shouting orders and the column came to an abrupt halt.   
A familiar figure stepped out of the dark very near to us, and turning, I saw none other than Haldir of Lorien himself.   
I was smiling. I felt it as he went to say something to me. Scarcely, I heard it; something of an old promise made long ago between men and Elves.  
Hardly had he finished speaking when I ran to him and caught him in my arms, burying my face into his shoulder, for I was very glad to see him. His flaxen hair, so soft, brushed against my cheek in the now lightened breeze which had been cold and carrying our fate. The rough wool of the gray garment was scratchy 'gainst my nose, yet pleasant, for it smelled of Lothlorien... of fresh-cut wood and soft moss, of golden sunlight in dappled clearings... Beneath it, I could feel the solid plates of his armor. His shoulders were rigid in their gold, and he was ready to fight and to die with us...   
There was a moment's hesitation, and I felt his arms close around my back as well, returning the embrace... We held for only a few seconds before parting, but it was enough to let this pass through us: we were in this fate together.  
  
Elves and men side by side, together on the fortress heights. I would not have believed such a thing had it been told me when I was young. Above the torrents, I could hear Legolas and Gimli speaking nervously of Orcs and of battles past. This would be a long and terrible night. Each of us knew that by the end, our numbers would most likely be reduced by more than half. This sadness tugged at our bosoms under our plates and mail, but there was strength there too, untold.   
My knuckles cracked as I closed my hand around the hilt of my sword, the reforged Narcil. An alien noise drifted up from the misty distance as the rain slowed and gradually diminished into a murky sort of fog. A black line, almost indistinguishable, moved out of the twilight towards our stronghold. Even from where we were, and in what little light we had, we could make out the glinting of swinging swords. This is our foe, come at last...  
The wall grew silent. Even the air stopped its perpetual movement for a long pause. It was as if the earth had halted in its celestial footsteps to wait for the moment... The Orcan army approached quickly. They would soon be upon us.  
Realizing it was my last chance, I turned to my two companions. "Gimli! Legolas!..." Once again, they turned towards me.   
"Yah?"  
"What is it?"  
I looked at them, my eyes tracing the lines of their youthful faces... I took in Legolas' pale hair and dark eyes; Gimli's round cheeks and furrowed brow so full of character and life...Life... I committed these things to my memory in that very moment, and then was left with nothing to do but smile.  
"When all this is over..." I cleared my throat "When it is all through...We shall sit merry around the hearth with drink and song and tell over and over again of these times. Until then... all the very best, to both of you."  
The round face of the son of Gloin broke into a grin. "Aye, and I wager that one'll come ta be if naught else! See ye bothe at the end!"  
Legolas raised his chin with a small grin and a twinkle in his eye. "To the finish, Aragorn! To the very last!" He gave my arm a rough pat one last time and smiled. I knew what he meant. This, no matter what, shall not be the end of all.  
I smiled into the wind. The army was no more than a field and a half away. I heard the Elven archers draw their bows, heard the orders...  
But none of that mattered now. I drew my sword, all doubts, all fears, all dreams and hopes cast away. Now is the time for battle, I told myself, and I remembered something I was once told or that I'd read somewhere... "Always remember: all one can do is try as he may, and if it is the greatest things that are sought, they will be reached one way or another. Believe it, and it shall be..."   
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Jamberry aka Chibi Legolas, March 8, 2003 


End file.
